North Carolina Democrats are fired up about Barack Obama, their candidate for President of the United States.  Volunteers are in over abundant and monetary contributions are flowing like the Nile River.  Add to that a growing number of Obama/Biden bumper stickers and yard signs which unlike in previous years outnumber those of the GOP candidates.  Extra telling is the comment sections of the editorial pages of leading NC newspapers like the Charlotte Observer where Obama supporters are active participants.  Negative or distorted comments posted by GOP supporters or surrogates are quickly rebuffed.

Another very prominent sign that NC is in play is the attention being paid to NC by the Obama Campaign. Last Sunday Joe Biden and his wife Jill visited Charlotte.  Michelle Obama visited on Thursday and Barack himself will be in Charlotte tomorrow on Sunday.  Judging by the buzz that I am hearing, I expect the turnout for Obama to be huge. The turnout and the energy his appearance will generate will fire up supporters even more for the stretch run and attract the few voters left who may be still undecided. 

If you need more proof, just listen to the chatter coming from the GOP and faux Democrats.  Former Hillary Clinton supporter, Mark Erwin is quick to suggest that it is futile for Obama to expend resources in NC because it's not likely that the so-called solid red state will turn blue.  It's obvious that much like his GOP pals, Erwin wasn't listening when Obama said "it's not red or blue states, but the United States."   Also, he apparently discounted a recent poll of likely NC voters that showed John McCain with only a one point lead over Obama.  That will spell big trouble for the GOP, because of the revised composition of likely voters that include a 3 to 1 Democratic advantage of new registrants and a large number of difficult to canvass young voters that favor the candidacy of Barack Obama.  Indeed, NC is very much in play.

Need more signs?  Prominent GOP candidates like Pat McCrory who is running for governor and Liz Dole up for re-election to the U.S. Senate seem to be running as Independents.  Liz Dole didn't even attend the GOP Convention.  Who's a Republican?  There is little mention of John McCain and with her star now losing its luster, few of them are climbing on the Sarah Palin bandwagon.  Privately Republicans must be incensed with McCain that Palin was not properly vetted.  With almost a scandal a day, voters have to be  questioning the judgment and decision-making capacity of McCain due to his choice of a running mate.  The selection of Joe Biden by Obama was a home run.  But does anyone who understands the importance of "Country First" really believe that McCain put country first with his selection of Palin who could be a heartbeat away from being Commander in Chief. 

Well, all those examples validate NC as a battleground state, but the biggest indicator is it appears that most NC voters are not of the stupid variety and have discerned that the country desperately needs positive change. I have attended large and small Obama events and there is widespread support for Obama from the electorate.  Those supposedly white, bitter, disenfranchised voters don't reside here.  You may recall it was Obama's NC primary victory that helped him get his mojo back. Much like it is with Iowa, NC and Obama are joined at the hip.  So despite this being the silly season of politics, Obama has statewide support in the Coastal Plains, the Piedmont and the Mountain regions of the Old North State. Yep, telltale signs suggest that the debilitating American Gridlock will get a long overdue positive change injection on November 5 and NC most certainly will line up on the right side of history.